BREAKING: Malaga-Madrid direct train connection launches for Easter

Spain's state rail operator Renfe will run direct trains between Malaga and Madrid from Holy Tuesday, 31 March, in time for Easter Week's biggest dates. With this initiative, Renfe responds to the demands of the tourism sector in record time.

This does not mean that the slope in Álora that keeps delaying the reopening of the high-speed line will be repaired by Easter. What Renfe is going to do is follow the suggestion of engineers and rail experts and use the short- and medium-distance lines, in addition to the high-speed from Antequera to Madrid.

The public operator is going to put into service an S-130 variable gauge train, capable of running on conventional and high-speed tracks. As SUR has been able to confirm, these trains will run with a daily frequency in double composition, that is to say, with 600 seats.

The route, therefore, will run along the conventional track from Malaga to Antequera Santa-Ana. Once there, it will pass through the gauge interchange, which will allow the S-130 to adapt its bogies to the high-speed rail, on which it will continue its journey to Madrid.

The journey time of this train will still be much longer than that of the AVE. The journey to Antequera will take place on conventional track, which is very limited in terms of speed. In addition, it is necessary for the train to pass through the gauge interchange, which takes about ten minutes.

On top of that, the S-130's top speed is limited to 250km/h. The forecast, therefore, is that this direct service will take about four hours (still to be confirmed by Renfe).

The good news is that it will not be subject to road traffic, which currently affects transfer buses, nor will there be any need to make exchanges or wait for the train to arrive in Santa Ana, which currently lengthens the journey time by between four and a half and five hours.

Renfe has kept this plan a secret. SUR received confirmation of it on Thursday night, when it learnt that drivers from Algeciras are training to be able to manage variable gauge between Malaga, Antequera and Madrid.

Renfe and the Ministry of Transport, however, have not yet officially confirmed or denied anything. A ministry spokesperson tempered the enthusiasm surrounding this new service by stating that they must first confirm the availability of rolling stock. They are not ruling out the possibility of opting for another solution.

In addition to this important update, Renfe is planning to increase the number of buses to Santa Ana on the days with the highest demand during the holidays.